Pertamina to boost Bekasi field output

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina said on Wednesday that oil production from its new oil fields in Bekasi, West Java, would reach a peak of 35,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2005.

"The Tambun field and Pondok Tengah will reach a maximum production of 20,000 bpd and 15,000 bpd respectively in 2005," Kun Kurnely, Pertamina's senior vice president for upstream operations told reporters as quoted by detikcom.

Tambun and Pondok Tengah fields are located in Babelan area, Bekasi.

According to Kun, the Tambun field at present only produces some 9,000 bpd. However, Kun did not give production figures for Pondok Tengah field.

Pondok Tengah itself was Pertamina's largest discovery in 2003 and is predicted to have oil reserves of 233 million barrels of oil.

The oil production in Bekasi is expected to boost the company's oil production which at present stands at 119,000 bpd from both Pertamina's own production and its partners.

Pertamina plans to increase oil production by an average of 141,000 bpd this year and 160,000 bpd next year.

The company has said it would focus its investment on upstream activities (exploration and production) this year.

As of last year, the company had total oil reserves of 424 million barrels.

Indonesia's oil production has been declining over the past couple of years. The government has predicted oil production this year to be less than one million bpd, compared to last year's average of 1.1 million. It is much lower than the country's quota of 1.270 million bpd set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Country (OPEC)

Indonesia is the only OPEC member from Southeast Asia.